Beside Me From the Beginning
by RoseDragonWitch
Summary: The prequel to Beside Me… Always. A lot of this is mixture of my imagination and guesswork, but this is the tale of Dumbledore. How he goes from a young child to when he first meets young Harry James Potter. This is the journey of Albus Dumbledore where he sets off on his first grand adventure.
1. Prologue

**Prologue: The Life and Lies of Albus Dumbledore**

 ***July 31, 1943***

It was a hot summer day that slowly approaching upon the month of August and the grounds of Hogwarts castle seemed to be enjoying the weather upon this day. A magnificent castle with myriad spires and towers, countless windows that glittered in the afternoon light as the sun bathed the gray stone with sunshine just as it reached directly overhead. The grounds around the castle were a bright, emerald green and lush as it thrived in this warm weather, reaching all the way down to the edge of the lake where several young merfolk were leaping out of the water as they played.

The next school year would be starting up in just a month and so there was still time to get it ready for the returning students. Hardly anyone was in the castle at this point in time, except for the gamekeeper who lumbered out of his small hut on the grounds as he patrolled the edge of the forest with his young apprentice. Though not even of age yet, this boy was already towering over his teacher, twice the size of a normal man with a thick head of shaggy, black hair and the start of a beard already growing on his chin. He lumbered behind him as he carried the food that would be needed to give to a recently sick unicorn.

While inside the castle, the caretaker stalked the hallways that he long since memorized… leaving only a single teacher whose worry was starting to settle in while he kept an eye on what was happening in the rest of the world.

Aside from them, the only other person who was within the Hogwarts grounds was a middle-aged man who just walked through the main gates as he headed up to the castle. He was a tall and very thin man with long hair and a short beard of dark red color; while the eyes behind a pair of dirty lenses of his spectacles were a brilliant, soul-piercing shade of blue and a very grumpy disposition. He huffed slightly, this hot weather doing little to improve his mood.

He entered the castle as he made his way up through the corridors and secret passageways, remembering the way since childhood when he first went to this school, though not one he had taken since he dropped out in his sixth year.

He didn't tell the annoyed caretaker why he was here, but he had a goal in mind when he went off to a certain wing of the castle where the sunshine was blazing in through the windows and warming everything in sight.

"Bloody hells," he grunted as he wiped the sweat from his brow before he finally reached the hallway he was looking for, "Does he ever leave this place?"

He stopped outside of the classroom and knocked loudly.

After a few seconds of waiting and no one answering he rolled his eyes.

"Merlin… what's gotten into him?" he asked himself grumpily as he forced the door open. "Oi! Albus!"

He was standing in the brightly lit, sunny Transfiguration room, which looked almost unrecognizable without students to fill the empty desks. Of course, he had seen it empty plenty of times during his school days when he was forced to stay behind for detentions. He looked around a little more before he heard noises coming from the very back to where an office was and he rolled his eyes.

"Of course," he said darkly.

Without bothering to knock this time, he opened the door and walked right into the office, which was much darker for the drapes were drawn shut and left the room in semidarkness. There were shelves full of curious silver instruments that made funny little noises as they whirled about and emitted little puffs of smoke sitting upon small tables around the room. There were shelves on the walls that were groaning underneath the strain of books—several of them looking like library books—as well as different schedules pinned to the wall that revealed detailed lessons for all years as well as plans for an upcoming tutoring lessons for those who were struggling with these lessons.

Right next to the door was a large, golden perch where a beautiful bird sat. A crimson bird the size of a swan with stunning scarlet and gold plumage was sitting there as it slept with his head under its wing, it's glittering golden tail as long as a peacocks swayed slightly while its golden talons gleamed from the sunlight that he let in when he walked in.

But he ignored all of that as his eyes were drawn to the man sitting at a small desk, a scattering of newspaper clippings spread out in front of him as he leaned over to look at them.

Albus Dumbledore was turning over several pages of the clippings and looked at them with grave concern, not even paying attention to the fact that he had a guest. But rather than make himself known, he leaned up against the door and waited until Albus could not pretend that he wasn't there.

"Good afternoon, Aberforth," Albus sighed without looking up at him. "It's been a long time."

"A few years," Aberforth stated casually as he watched his elder brother continue his examination of the clippings as he looked around the room—trying not to look too interested in the curious instruments.

Albus barely paid Aberforth any attention as he focused on the task at hand. He had just placed the article that was on the front page, just that morning, and added it to the ever growing pile.

GELLERT GRINDLEWALD: DARK WIZARD STRIKES AGAIN IN EUROPE!

The rest of the articles were just as grim. Showing pictures of the mad wizard and with the Ministry struggling to find methods of dealing with this growing threat.

"Enjoying the news recently?" Aberforth asked as he strolled over to the desk to have a look at what was drawing Albus's attention.

Albus sighed as he moved another clipping so that he could look at the one underneath it as it read:

MINISTRY OF MAGIC TO RESPOND TO GROWING PUBLIC FEAR

"What's his end goal?" Aberforth asked. "It's like he's just jumping around from place to place."

"That is a good question," Albus confessed as his eyes were drawn to the picture of Grindlewald as it caption above it asked: WHERE IS GRINDELWALD? IS ANYONE SAFE? "Right now, I believe that he is more focused on gathering followers before he comes out completely into the open."

"Not for lack of trying," Aberforth stated darkly as he picked up a clipping and looked at it as it stated: GRINDLEWALD ATTACKS INTERNATIONALLY! RISKING WAR WITH MUGGLES! "At this rate, it won't be much longer before he brings the wizards out of hiding."

Albus picked the clipping out of his brother's hands as he rejoined the other pieces. The clippings and pieces of parchment were scattered over his desk in such a way that it looked like a mess to most. However, to Albus, it was as if a very complicated puzzle and he was struggling to make the pieces all fit together in a way that made sense. With a simple drawing of the Deathly Hallows in the very center of this mess with the other pieces seemingly connected to that one drawing.

"He started off with only small attacks," Albus said out loud, more to himself than to his little brother, moving another few pieces of paper that each read out: HOGWARTS SCHOOL INCREASES SECURITY and another picture of Grindelwald that had the words printed out in bold: GRINDELWALD SPREADING FEAR WORLDWIDE!

Instead he looked to some older records and went on quietly, "He crept into society through small attacks that couldn't be traced in any way. But then…?" he moved those papers for others underneath and added, "Lists of various dark materials were being bought or stolen from illegal channels. It wasn't reported, obviously, but soon it grew from that. Grindelwald, who was gaining influence in Germany, has now spread quickly towards France before stretching through Eastern Europe and down to Britain. They are even saying that he may have contacts as far as North and South America. Eventually, people have noticed and the first murders were taking place."

"And the bastard is leading his fanatics across Europe as he commits mass-slaughter and is on the verge of exposing all of wizardkind to the Muggles," Aberforth grunted as he walked around the desk to look more at the little instruments. "Merlin's beard, even I know that!"

Albus sighed as he ran a tired hand through his short beard and asked, "Why are you here, Aberforth? Be honest. You've gone out of your way to avoid me, why come straight here?"

"No reason," Aberforth grunted as he picked up one of the instruments so that he could examine it. "I just came by because I wanted to see if what everyone was saying about you was true?"

"And what is that?" Albus asked dully, though fully aware of what he was about to say.

"Oh, nothing special," Aberforth said as he dropped the instrument back onto the desk and added, "Just that they say that one of the 'greatest'," he sneered at that last word, "Wizards in the world was letting Grindelwald run all over the world as he kills wizards and muggles alike. Oh, in case you missed that, they seem to think that was you."

Albus froze at that as he looked up at him, not daring to bring himself to answer.

"So, while we're on the topic, why don't you tell me something," Aberforth asked with a frown. "I'm tired of people asking me what I think that my dear big brother is planning for Grindelwald. Like hell if I know that! But that does bring up a good question. What on earth is going on through that so called brilliant head of yours?"

Albus didn't answer him as he leaned over his desk in such a way that it was as if he needed the desk to support himself. Albus would be lying if he said that he didn't secretly hope that if he stayed quiet long enough then Aberforth would give up.

Aberforth's frown became more pronounced the longer the silence went on before he asked, "You idiot. You're the only one who stands a chance against him in a one-on-one duel! Everyone's going on about it, anyway! So why not get it over with, already?"

"You make it sound so easy," Albus frowned, not looking up. "I've been trying to put a stop to his plans but…?"

"So then why are you spending your time here in school?" Aberforth asked sharply. "You two were nearly equal in power and now you're scared that you're going to lose to him?"

"Not at all," Albus countered. "I believe us to still be evenly matched. Perhaps, I may even be a shade more skillful…"

"Modest as ever," Aberforth grunted with a click of his teeth. "I'm just trying to figure out what you're planning here."

"Because one does not simply go looking for Grindlewald and expect to find him," Albus said firmly.

Silence fell upon both men.

"Don't tell me you forgot, did you?" Aberforth demanded quietly, "What happened to our family the moment you brought that—bastard—home?"

Albus's head finally shot up and gave his brother a cold look as he stood up to his full height as he asked coldly, "You really think that I could?"

"Honestly, when it comes to you, I don't know," Aberforth answered him truthfully. "I don't know what's going on inside that head of yours. And if you don't tell anyone, how are we supposed to know?"

Albus only looked on, his anger fading as a grim melancholy took hold, all the fight draining out of him as Aberforth waited for an answer.

"I know what he is capable of," he reminded him. "Of that, I hope you can believe me. But I have no intension of allowing myself to be blinded to his true nature again. That much, I swear. But moving against Grindelwald isn't as easy as going out and see if I can find him."

He closed his eyes as the ghost of a memory played out in his mind.

 _"Now Albus," Mrs. Bagshot said kindly to him as she brought a young man with thick, golden blonde hair and a merry smile as his aunt brought them together. "This is my nephew Gellert. He'll be staying with me for the time being and I thought that you could be able to show him around Godric's Hollow for me?"_

 _"Hello," the handsome young man said with a mischievous smile, "My name is Gellert Grindelwald."_

 _Albus felt his curiosity rise, glad to have someone to speak to who didn't swear at him or shy away like his siblings. He didn't know how long that he would be staying for, but it will be nice to have someone else to talk to for a time as he held out his hand to shake._

 _"Albus Dumbledore…"_

Albus gave his head a little shake as he forced his eyes open and left the past behind.

"Defeating him won't be easy," he repeated as Aberforth groaned and ran a hand through his stringy hair in frustration.

"Do as you wish," he said as he turned around and showed himself out, "Don't know why I bothered coming."

"Be careful on your way back, Aberforth," Albus called as the door closed loudly behind him and Albus collapsed in his chair once more, feeling exhausted. He leaned his elbows upon the desk and ran his hands over his face wearily before he picked up another clipping and gazed at it without a trace of emotion. He must have read all these papers enough times to memorize them and the words were slowly beginning to repeat themselves.

But he wasn't reading them this time. Rather, he was more focused upon Gellert's face. It still held that hint of merry amusement that it once held. Yet, now…? It was nearly unrecognizable with those cold eyes and a portion of his handsomeness having faded due to his age and whitening hair.

He then dropped the picture sadly as he leaned back in his chair, trying not to dwell on that face. He knew that he needed to be stopped. Yet, while he only knew him for two months, he knew that Grindelwald was an outstandingly talented and powerful wizard. It was going to take more than a simple trick or plan to defeat him. He then opened up one of this drawers and pulled out a list that he had made some time ago of what he knew of Grindelwald's talents.

Talentedly Magical: (Extremely skilled with great knowledge of advanced spells.)

Dark Arts: (Both highly knowledgably and considered the most powerful Dark Arts practitioner in history.)

Of course, that much Albus knew. After all, his experiments at Durmstrang were so twisted and dangerous that even Durmstrang's tolerance was pushed too far and he was expelled. That should have been a clue to him right away to just what kind of nature that Grindelwald truly possessed.

Master Duelist: (Duelist of tremendous, almost unrivaled skill. Has said to be confident, focused, disciplined, and a master of combative sorcery.)

This was also proven time and time again. Albus looked to another article that stated that Grindelwald was able to duel groups highly trained Aurors before escaping. All the Aurors either dead or gravely injured. One of the surviving Aurors stated that he could create a Shield Charm that was able to repel a barrage of spells that were fired at him by around twenty-four Aurors at once.

Which led him to the next step of his list.

Charms: (Mastery and vast knowledge of charms. Could already cast a Disillusionment Charm to become invisible at seventeen. Also master of wandless and non-verbal spells.)

Transfiguration: (Exceptionally proficient in the field of Human Transfiguration. Master of creating disguises for prolonged periods of time.)

One of many reasons that tracking him has been so difficult. He frowned as he continued down his list.

Occlumency: (Incredibly accomplished Occlumens. Able to fully conceal his true thoughts from Legilimens.)

Divination: (Rumors that he has talent as a Seer. However, if true, he does not appear to be an expert in this magical field.)

Intellectual Genius: (Incredible level of intellect. Great knowledge of magical history and lore, especially on magical artifacts. Expert strategist and tactician, with uncanny ability to create intricate and brilliant plans.)

And perhaps the most dangerous talent that he had.

Charisma: (Exceptional leader. Able to create an army of wizards large enough to rebel against the International Statue of Secrecy.)

Albus shivered slightly as he remembered that. Even as a teenager, he was highly talented in manipulating others and charming them into joining his cause. It was because of that Albus fell victim to his charms as well.

When he looked back to today's article, he only just realized the date and he blinked as he realized what today was. He threw the list onto the desk to join the rest of the papers before he began to pace the office for a time until his steps carried him over to the window and opened the hangings. He blinked a little from the bright light as he looked out at the grounds, which revealed a grand view of the courtyard below him—and even to the lake in the distance.

His movements must have awoken his companion, however. For he soon heard a soft note from Fawkes and the Phoenix left his perch and glided over to sit upon his shoulder. The bird gently rubbed his head against Albus's cheek as he sang, and Albus smiled wearily at him as he ran a single finger across his beautiful plumage, taking great comfort from his song.

"Ah music," he sighed as Fawkes sang softly for him and he closed his eyes against the bright light. "A magic all of its own."

It was as fine a gift as he could have asked for. For he had forgotten that today… today was his birthday.

 ***July 31th, 1881***

It was during a very hot, muggy day did a pair of new parents in the charming village of Mould-on-the-Wold welcomed the birth of their firstborn son into the world. The young couple of Percival and Kendra Dumbledore thanked the healer who came out to help with the birth and waved her on her way before they turned their full attention to their son.

Percival Dumbledore was sitting next to their bed as he held his firstborn son while the love of his life was resting next to him. She was exhausted, with her hair a sweaty mess as he gently brushed the stray hairs from her beautiful face.

She opened her eyes at his touch and beamed at the sight of him before turning her attention to the baby boy in his father's arms, who was cooing up at the sight of them, blinking blurrily from the light.

"You were amazing, my dear," he told her gently as he took her hand and kissed her fingertips in an endearing way. She smiled back tiredly as she reached up with another hand and moved the blanket that her newborn son was wrapped slightly so that she could look at him.

"A healthy baby boy," she sighed blissfully. "What a relief."

"Yes," he chuckled as he held his little boy up so that Kendra could see their son's face. "And he's perfect. Just like you, my dear."

"Romantic as ever," she chuckled, secretly thrilled every time he doted upon her. Her husband never passed up an opportunity to tell her how much he loved her and it never failed to bring a smile to her face.

"Now, all that he needs is a name," Percival said softly as their son slowly drifted off to sleep and he passed him over to his mother's waiting arms.

"I know that it's traditional for wizard boys to take their father's name," Kendra told him, "So we could have Percival for his middle name."

"I like it so far," he chuckled as he moved to join her in bed as he thought it over. The two looked at each other as they began to debate back and forth, speaking mostly in whispers as the little boy snoozed on peacefully.

"Ok," Percival said, looking close to laughing now as their conversation was now taking them around in circles. "We both want to name him after our fathers. Wulfric for my father, and… Brian after yours?"

"What's wrong with that?" Kendra asked.

"But Brian?" he repeated, "Not really a wizarding name?"

"What would count as a wizarding name to you?" she asked with her eyebrows raised and he grinned back.

"Something… different," he reminded her. "How about this? We give him Brian and Wulfric for middle names as well?"

"You want our baby to have a ridiculously long name like that?" she asked incredulously, "I can only imagine what he'll think of us when he grows up. He'll be wondering just what we were thinking if he tries to write that name on a test paper."

"Hey, it'll be unique. Just like him," Percival told her. "His first name… and then… Brian Percival Wulfric Dumbledore?"

Kendra looked doubtful as he shrugged and added, "We'll figure out the order later. We should be focusing more upon his first name anyway. What do you suppose that should be?"

Kendra thought it over for a moment as she rocked her little boy. "It should be as unique as the rest of his name," she said thoughtfully. "He's going to have a bright future too. We're going to make sure of that. So it should represent that…"

Percival waited eagerly to see what she came up when he saw her eyes turn bright with inspiration.

"I got it," she said beaming, "What do you think… about Albus?"

"Albus…" Percival said thoughtfully and stroked his chin. "Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore."

He then reached over and wrapped his arms around both his wife and child as he told her, "I love it."

 **(Are you surprised to see which story won? I confess, I thought that we would be seeing a lot more votes for the idea of Hagrid throughout the years, but the truth is that the poll was neck and neck almost the entire time. It was a close one, but the idea of a prequel for Beside Me… Always won out in the end. Also, don't know if you noticed, but Hagrid did make an appearance here if you were paying attention.**

 **Now, like I said before, this story is mostly going to be from my own guesses and speculations so it shouldn't be considered canon. Just my own idea of what could have happened for Dumbledore through the years. I am also aware of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and of looking more into Dumbledore's history there and I may have to add those parts in later on in the future in bonus chapters. But I do hope that you will be looking forward to them.**

 **As for his name. I can't say for sure if that was how he got his name. But I'm guessing that they were from both of his grandfathers on both sides. With a family name such as Dumbledore and his father's name as Percival I don't think it's unreasonable for his grandfather on his father's side to have a name like Wulfric. And his mother Kendra was Muggleborn so I can see her father having a pretty simple name like Brian. And from what I've seen, Albus, Harry, and Teddy all had their middle names after their father so I was just guessing for that one.**

 **And when I think of Dumbledore's parents, I see a couple who never really grew out of the honeymoon stage. I see a couple who were very much in love and they shared it with their children. I see them having as this wonderful, teasing love up until what happened with Ariana.**

 **Also, for Dumbledore's birthday? I was just taking a wild guess there. I know that he was born in 1881 and that it was sometime during July and August. But J.K Rowling said so herself that Dumbledore was her favorite character. So why not give him her birthday? Also, I thought that it would be a nice touch if he and Harry share the same birthday as well.)**


	2. Sibling Love

**Chapter 1: Sibling Love**

"This one, Father…" Albus asked as he picked one of the books off his shelves and held it up for his father to see.

"Alright," his father chuckled as he picked up the small boy and set him on his knee in a comfortable armchair before he ran his hand through his son's red hair. "At this rate, we'll run out of books to go through with you before you turn three."

"You have lots of books," Albus pointed out innocently, remembering all the massive and heavy tomes that were in his father's study.

"Yes, but I think that they are a bit advanced for you at the moment," he said kindly as he opened up the volume that his son picked out. "So, shall we pick up where we left off with the Tales of Beedle the Bard? Which story were we on?"

"The brothers' one?" Albus asked as his father nodded.

"Right, you haven't heard that one yet," he said as he turned the page and began to read out, "The Tale of the Three Brothers."

Albus moved about on his father's lap so that he could get a look at the pictures… and he saw the one where there were three men standing upon the opposite side of a river.

"There were once three brothers who were traveling along a lonely, winding road at twilight," his father began to recite and he dove deeper into the tale. Albus's eyes were as wide as galleons as he listened to the brothers able to create a bridge out of nowhere and he wished he could do such magic right now.

But when they reached the part when the hooded figure appeared before the three brothers, he began to frown.

"Death?" Albus asked in confusion as his father paused in the story.

"Death is… hard to explain," his father told him slowly, "It's where you go to sleep… and never wake up."

"What? Why?" Albus asked in confusion. "Why would anyone want that?"

"It's… I'm afraid that you're still a bit too young to fully understand, Al," he told him softly. "But know that… Death comes for us all in the end."

"Well I don't like it," Albus pouted, "Why do you have to add a bad guy in here?"

"Who said that Death is a bad guy?" his father asked him curiously.

"Because if he makes sure that people don't wake up, how could he be anything else?" Albus questioned as if it was obvious.

"Oh, you are too smart for me sometimes," his father smiled as he patted him on the head. "But I'm sure that when you're older, you will come to understand what it means. But remember, this is just a story. Now… let's see what Death does to the three brothers, shall we?"

He went on, his son listening in with rapid glee at the thought of how the three brothers ended up outwitting Death and of such powerful objects that Death handed each them.

"Which would you have taken, Albus?" his father asked suddenly, pausing once more.

"One of the three treasures?" Albus thought it over and said, "The cloak sounds really amazing! I could take some of mother's cookies from the kitchen without her knowing about it."

His father laughed at that and told him in a whisper, "I think she already knows about that. You might want to watch your step, Al."

Albus's eyes widen in horror at that as his father merely patted him on the head again and said, "Don't worry. So long as you don't ruin your appetite with cookies before dinner, I don't think she minds so much. But still, we might have to do something about that sweet tooth of yours. So… you would choose the cloak?"

Albus thought it over again for a moment before shaking his head and said, "I like the wand! An unbeatable wand! I could win any duel, couldn't I?"

"I suppose so," his father said good-naturedly, "Most would probably pick the wand first off. Now, let's find out where their journey takes them."

Albus thought that his father was wonderful at telling stories. He could change his voices and he even added sound effects with his wand, causing Albus to shriek with laughter. But just as they were reaching the part where the three brothers were going their separate ways, the door opened up.

"Percival?"

Albus looked up to see his mother standing there. He had always thought that his mother was the prettiest woman in the entire world… but now she looked even prettier than ever. There was a rosy hue added to her cheeks and a shine in her eyes that seemed to be brimming with happiness.

"My love?" his father asked in surprise, "Is there something wrong?"

"No," she said, smiling widely, "But… could I have a quick word? It's important?"

"Can't it wait?" he asked, jerking his head in his son's direction, but there was something about the way that she was smiling that got his attention. Without looking away from her, he closed the book and set it down next to him as Albus watched in surprise.

"Albus, why don't we cut the stories a little short today?" Percival asked as he picked Albus up into his arms, "Let's see what mother wants, huh?"

"But…?" Albus said quickly, not wanting to go to sleep just yet.

"We can finish the story tomorrow," his father promised him as he tucked the small boy into bed. "Alright? Just sleep, sleep is good for you."

"Alright," Albus frowned as his parents kissed him adoringly on his head and blew out the small lantern next to the bed.

After they closed the door behind them, Albus did try to go to sleep. He rolled over, tossing and turning for several minutes as he tried to allow sleep to wash over him. But he couldn't… he was too anxious to learn what happened to the three brothers. He wanted to know what came next.

After about five minutes of tossing and turning, he finally abandoned the thought of rest and sat up. It was no use, he just couldn't close his eyes. He wanted to hear the end of the story! So, he quietly slipped out of bed and fetched the book that had been left next to the armchair. But with the light out, he couldn't even see the pictures anymore… even though his mother was teaching him his letters, he couldn't read in the dark and his parents would be upset if he tried to light the lantern on his own. So, he went wandering out of his room and down the hall to find his parents. He would just tell them that he wanted to know the ending and then he would go back to bed. That was all… he was sure that they would understand.

When he reached the door, he could see that it was open just a hair and a narrow beam of light was cast from the crack and revealed a band of light upon the darkened wall opposite the door. Albus had just reached up to knock when he heard his parents talking.

"This is glorious news!" he heard his father said joyfully. "Are you sure?"

"I was at St. Mungo's earlier today after I felt sick this morning," his mother said and Albus felt worried. Why would his mother go to the hospital? Was she not feeling right? "They confirmed it," she went on and he heard his father give a whooping laugh and soon both of them were laughing. Albus peeked in through the crack to see that his father was hugging his mother and swinging her off her feet in circles.

"This is brilliant!" his father cried excitedly once he put her down. "We'll have to start preparing right away! We still have an extra bedroom so we can turn that into a nursery! And we still have the crib and a lot of baby clothes from Albus and…?"

"I'm not a baby!" Albus couldn't help but cry out indignantly before he covered his mouth, unable to believe that he yelled like that.

His parents were looking to the door as he slowly stuck his head in, worried that he was in trouble for listening in.

"Albus," his mother said in surprise. "What are you doing up?"

"I… I couldn't sleep," he said as he held up the book nervously. "I wanted to hear how the story ended."

"Oh, is that all?" his father said and Albus was relieved to see that he was smiling as his parents beckoned him to come inside. His mother sat on the bed as she drew him up into his arms and his father took the book from him.

"Alright," he said, "Normally, I don't condone you wandering around after we told you to go to bed, but today is such a great day, I think I'll make an exception. Now… you promise that you will go to sleep once I'm done?"

"Yes!" Albus said as his mother pulled him into her arms and listened as he watched his father open the cover and flipped through the pages.

"Which story is it?" his mother asked curiously.

"The Tale of the Three Brothers!" Albus told her eagerly before she frowned a little at her husband.

"That one? I don't know, Percival," she said worriedly, "Isn't that one a little… dark? You really shouldn't be reading it to him."

"We already ran out of other stories to read to him," Percival reminded her, "Besides, it's nowhere near as bad as the Warlock's Hairy Heart."

"Oh, that one was horrid," his mother said with a shake of her head. "Why put something like that in a story for children?"

"You should read the… purified version by Beatrix Bloxam," Percival said darkly. "I felt sick when I was reading what she did to the Wizard and the Hopping Pot." He then cleared his throat and began to speak in a much higher, girlish voice, "Then the little golden pot danced with delight- hoppitty hoppitty hop! - on its tiny rosy toes! Wee Willykins had cured all the dollies of their poorly tum-tums, and the little pot was so happy it filled up with sweeties for Wee Willykins and the dollies!"

"Father!" Albus cried out, wrinkling his nose, "Stop!"

"See!" his father cried, pointing at his son dramatically. "It could be much worse!"

His mother looked torn between scolding and laughing but she remained silent as they listened in to the rest of the tale. Albus leaned in to learn the fate of the three wizards, how the first brother had killed a man with the wand before later dying himself when someone heard about the power the wand held and stole it from him.

"And that is why you should never brag about yourself, Albus," his father said sagely. "It's one thing about being better than anyone else, but you can't go pointing it out."

"Will Death come for me if I do?" Albus asked worriedly as his mother shook her head and gave his father a dark look.

"Look, Al," Father said as he sat on the bed next to them, "I don't know how to really explain it in a way that makes sense. But… hopefully… Death won't come for you for a long, long time."

"But he will come for me?" Albus questioned, not liking the idea of a cloaked figure following him.

"Now look what you're doing," his mother warned him.

"Son," Father said, waving a reassuring hand down at his wife and finished, "It's nothing to worry about. But let's finish the story first?"

He then went on by reaching the fate about the second brother and how the sight of his beloved, separated by him as if by a veil, drove him mad with longing and thus ended his own life to join her.

"If something happens to mother, would you act that way?" Albus asked his father, looking from one parent to the other.

"Why don't we stop there?" Mother said, glaring at the book as if it had insulted her.

"Know that I will fight Death for your mother," Father said, looking up sweetly at her. "Nothing short of my own Death will stop me from taking care of you all."

"Oh, you are lucky you are so romantic," she whispered with a roll of her eyes, but a smile playing on her face.

"We're almost done, my dearest," he chuckled and so he finished the story by telling the fate of the final brother, who lived to a ripe old age and passed his cloak of invisibility down to his son. He then greeted Death, like an old friend, and departed this life as equals.

"That's it?" Albus asked when his father closed the book. "All three of them were taken by Death in the end?"

"Yes," his father confirmed. "And that's the end of the tale."

"Well, I don't like it," Albus frowned.

"It's a warning tale," his father said, "Basically, I think it means that you need to be humble in your desires. It's alright to want to be famous and powerful… but you have to be modest about it. The only brother not to die prematurely was the brother who just requested sanctuary from Death's gaze, so that Death would not be able to pursue him. He ultimately lived a happy life and died peacefully – in contrast to his brothers, who suffered horrible fates. We learnt that it's important to be ethical in your decisions, and to not allow your ambition to overcome you."

Albus tilted his head in confusion as his father chuckled.

"It's just a story, Albus," he repeated and patted his hand. "Again, I'm sure that you'll understand it when you're a little older. Don't think too much about it."

He then saw how his father looked to his mother and said, while the pair shared a beaming smile, "Well, while you're up, we have some exciting news to share. We were going to tell you tomorrow, but…?"

"But what?" Albus asked worriedly, twisting around in his mother's embrace to look up at her, "Are you sick, mother?"

"Been listening at keyholes?" she asked and he flushed as she laughed and hugged him. "You shouldn't make a habit of it, Albus. But no. I'm not sick. I just found out some wonderful news. We're going to have another baby!"

Albus's eyes widen at that.

"You're going to have a baby brother or sister to play with," his father added, as if to make sure he understood, "Isn't that nice?"

"Yes," Albus cried out, looking at his parents with a beaming smile. "When's the baby coming? Is it soon?"

"Oh, no love," his mother told him with another laugh. "I'm afraid that it's going to be a few months before they get here. Which is good in our case, we have a lot to prepare for."

"So… will I have a brother? Or a sister?" he asked eagerly, practically jumping on the bed.

"I'm afraid we won't know about that either until they get here," his father informed him, "We're just gonna have to wait and see. Be patient."

"Will you love and play with the new baby more than me?" he suddenly asked, his smile fading slightly as his parents shared a look of surprise.

Yet, his father still answered without any hesitation, "Of course not, Albus. Just because you'll be having a baby brother or sister doesn't mean that we will stop loving you."

"Really?" he asked, still nervous over the idea that he would lost his parents affection.

"Of course," his mother said as she pulled him up into her arms. "No matter how many brothers or sisters you get in the future, we will never stop loving you. You don't ever lose love, it only grows."

"How many brothers and sisters am I going to have?" Albus asked quickly and his parents laughed.

"Three…? Maybe four…?" his mother smiled. "We'll see. Now then, when the baby gets here, you're going to have to be a good example. As a big brother, it's your job. Do you understand?"

"Yes, mother," he said, though he was still confused to why they were both still smiling even as they carried him back to his own room and tucked him again a second time.

"Mother?" he added as they looked back at him through the doorway as he asked innocently, "How is the baby coming?"

Both his parents froze at that.

"We'll tell you another time, son," his father said with a rather nervous smile. "Now get some sleep. Goodnight."

 ***Months later***

"I'm worried about Mother," Albus said anxiously. "She didn't look well at all."

"Easy, Albus," his father said as Albus jumped around the kitchen impatiently.

"But is mother going to be alright?" he asked in a scared voice. "She looked like she was in a lot of pain."

"Oh, give your mother some credit, she's tough," he told him reassuringly as he pulled him back down into his chair at the table. "Sounds like the baby wants to cause trouble before they even get here. We'll have to keep an eye on them, huh?"

But Albus saw how his father looked at the ceiling and frowned a little in worry before saying, in a rather forced cheerfulness, "So… you ready to be a big brother?"

"Yes," Albus said at once, standing up in his chair. "Why can't we go up?"

"Because the Healer will kick us out again," he said patiently, "Just wait. Patience is a virtue. One of which you are going to have to learn if you want to make it through life. They will call us when the baby gets here. I know… how about I read to you some more? That will keep us busy until then."

Albus pouted, not liking this, but he nodded as his father took him back into the living room and pulled a random book down from the shelf. He began reading out the story to him, but Albus was barely paying any attention as he kept looking up at the ceiling every time he heard something. But it was not to be until over an hour later did they hear the sounds of a baby crying and Albus almost fell out of his chair so his father had to reach out and catch him.

"Let's go up and see how things are, huh?" he said, his beaming smile back as he carried Albus up the stairs, almost leaping up three at a time until he came to the landing where the Healer had just quietly closed the door behind her and muffled the baby's cries slightly.

She was grinning when she saw them and said happily in a hushed voice, "It's a boy… and a healthy one at that, if you couldn't tell by his crying?"

"A boy!" his father repeated ecstatically as he held Albus up proudly and asked, "Did you hear that, Albus? You have a baby brother!"

"And boy, was he difficult on his way here," the healer laughed. "You can go and see them. Don't mind me, I'll show myself out."

Albus was craning his neck to try and get a look at the door, as if willing himself to gaze through the wood, while his father shook his hand with the Healer and thanked her for her help. Once she walked down the stairs, the two of them went up to the door and knocked.

"Come in," called his mother's weak voice over the child's cries. When his father opened the door, he saw his mother lying in bed, looking so tired and messy that he wanted to reach out and hug her. But she was sitting up as she rocked a bundle in her arms.

His father carried him over until he was settled upon the bed and leaned in to kiss his mother.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said wearily, though looking exhausted, she was beaming at the sight of them both here with her, and held out the crying bundle for him to take.

"Here," she said, sounding drained. "He was trouble."

"I can tell," father said as he took the boy from her and held him up proudly so that he could get a good look at the baby, his eyes shining as Albus crawled over and rested his head against his mother as he asked, "Mother? Are you feeling well? You don't look good."

"I'm fine, sweetheart," she told him, hugging him tightly. "I'm just tired, that's all. But more importantly, I want you to meet your little brother. Aberforth."

"Aberforth," Albus repeated as he looked up to his father; who then held out the baby for him to look. Albus stared down in awe as the tiny thing wrapped up in the blue blanket as the scrunched up face wailed underneath tuff of auburn hair already on his head.

Albus then planted his hands over his ears and said over the noise, "He's loud! What's wrong?"

"He's just grumpy," his mother reassured him.

"He looks just like you did when you were born," Percival laughed before leaning in to kiss his mother. "Once again, you did amazing, my love."

"And this time we have a name picked out," she told him.

"You mean that he won't have five names like me?" Albus asked loudly to make his voice heard.

"Not many people have a middle, middle name like you do, Albus," his father laughed. "No. See, we planned for everything when we found out about you… but forgot about picking out a name until you were in our laps. Here, we planned ahead. And it only took us three weeks to agree."

The baby continued to cry until his father passed him back to his mother and she rocked him back and forth until he calmed down. Albus only hoped that he wouldn't cry all the time.

 ***Almost a year later***

"What?" Albus cried out in shock at the dinner table after watching his father get a laughing and squirming Aberforth into the highchair. "You're having _another_ baby?"

His mother only smiled as she hugged him and ran her fingers through his hair lovingly.

"But Abe cries all the time," Albus reminded them, pointing to Aberforth, who was now sucking on his own fingers, "Now I have to share a room with him?"

"I'm afraid that we only have three bedrooms, sweetheart," his mother reminded him before placing a hand over her belly. "And we'll have to have room for when this one comes along. The baby will be staying in our room for the first couple of months, but then…?"

Albus sat there mutinous as he folded his arms and refused to eat the rest of his dinner. This wasn't fair! Not only was he woken up by Abe crying all night, he would be losing his room soon too! Why?

"Believe me, it was a surprise when we learned about it too," his father reassured him. "We weren't planning on anymore until you two were a little older. But… these things happen."

"But I don't want another one," Albus moaned out, dreading the thought of how he wasn't going to be sleeping again until he went off to Hogwarts.

"Well, I'm afraid that it's a little late for that," his mother smiled. "Don't worry. You're an amazing big brother. I know that you will be a good example to this one as well. You're already teaching Abe a lot of…?"

"He doesn't pay attention to anything I tell him," Albus pointed out. "He just likes making messes and crying."

"He's still a baby, Al," his father said as he wiped off some baby food off his face where Aberforth flew a handful of applesauce at him. "It's going to take some time."

"But he's dumb," Albus pouted.

"No, he's not," his father said with is eyebrows raised. "He's just different. I told you, it's all about patience. And don't say such mean things."

"And you're going to have to be nicer to him," his mother added kindly. "Both to him and the new baby, alright?"

Albus just sat there, silently fuming to himself as his father laughed.

"Oh, it's tough being the eldest, huh?" he asked as Aberforth squealed with laughter.

 ***Nine months later***

"Boys," their father warned them for what felt the hundredth time since this morning. "Not today. Please, try to get along."

"But Father!" Aberforth cried out as he and Albus were fighting over the colored pens, "I want to make a card for Mother and the new baby! But Al…"

"He keep taking the pens out of my hand!" Albus retorted, having been drawing and watching how the colored ink melted together and began to move in a flash of colors. But every time he tried to write something, Aberforth came over and tried to take the ones that he was writing with. "He can't even write his own name yet!"

"Enough," their father said, sounding tired. "Please, please… promise that you won't fight like this when there are three of you."

"But he started it…" both boys tried to reason as they pointed to each other.

"I don't care who started it, I'll end it if I have to," he said as he rubbed his hands over his face.

"Father," Albus asked suddenly, "Is the new baby going to be as annoying as Abe?"

"Hey!" Aberforth shot back.

"Albus, that's not nice," father scolded. "Now please. You don't want to upset your mother today."

He stood up and added, "I'm going to go up and check on them. You both sit here… and please… don't blow up the house or anything until I get back."

He left the room, leaving the two boys to glare at each other as they went back to drawing with a mixture of Muggle chalk and enchanted ink pens. Still, they remained silent and communicated mostly through glares as they went back to work.

"Albus! Aberforth!" their father's voice called and both boys jumped up to their feet, running to the stairs—stumbling and tripping over each other in their haste to be the first one there. Aberforth still had his half finished card in his hands as they both ended up falling right at the foot of the stairs and looked up to see their father there—his eyes twinkling even from this distance.

"Well, why don't you two come up?" their father called. "There's someone special that you boys need to meet."

"What is it?!" Abe called as he clung onto Albus and let him drag him upstairs, "A boy or a girl?"

"Come and see," their father laughed before he scooped them both up as if they weighed nothing and went swinging back into their bedroom to where the rest of their family was waiting. Their mother was sitting up in bed again, but Albus's eyes were drawn to the bundle she was holding. She didn't nearly as tired as she did when Abe was born… in fact, she looked ready to jump up and greet them with hugs if she didn't have her hands filled.

"Look at this boys," she said happily, when their father put them down. "It's your new baby sister!"

"A little girl!" their father cried out joyfully, punching the air. "Thank God! I don't know what we would have done if it was another boy!"

Neither boy caught on to the joke as they kept their eyes on the baby.

"This is your little sister," their mother told them both fondly as she her up for them to see. "Her name is Ariana. And I expect you both to take good care of her. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes mother," they said as they ran to her side, Albus feeling excitement despite the apprehension.

"At least she's quiet," he said as Aberforth tried to kick his feet up so that he could climb onto the bed too, but had to be helped up by his father. "Unlike some people."

"Hey!" Abe shot back as he crawled over and onto their mother's stomach so that he could look.

"Oh, mummy… she's so cute! Can I hold her?" he asked imploringly.

"I don't know, Abe," their mother said with a fake seriousness that Albus knew right away to know that she was only teasing, "Babies are very fragile. And you aren't the most careful with your toys…?"

"I'll be careful! I promise!" Abe said as he reached out, desperately wanting to hold his little sister and watched worriedly as his parents shared another look.

"Alright, but only if you are extremely careful," their father said as he moved Aberforth so that he was nestled on the bed right between his mother and his father sitting in the armchair that he pulled right up next to them. He then added a few extra pillows around Aberforth and was giving firm instructions on how careful he has to be with her.

Albus watched as their mother, very gently, moved their sister over and placed the little girl in Aberforth's lap, while still supporting Ariana's head as Aberforth watched with wide eyes.

Seeing the stunned look on his brother's face was enough to cause Albus to smirk. At least until his mother waved him over to join them.

"Come on, Albus," their mother coaxed out of him. "Come and say hello. Ariana wants to meet you."

Albus frowned a little, but he came over to sit between her and Aberforth as father moved Ariana so that she was stretched on both of their laps. Up until that moment, Albus hadn't been looking forward to having another baby around the house. But when he looked at her, he saw the rosy cheeks and pretty blonde hair that father had… and when she opened her eyes, he could see their mother's bright blue eyes looking back.

"She's so pretty," Albus said in awe.

 ***July 31, 1943***

And indeed she was… little Ariana seemed to act like a calming beacon to her brothers whenever they start fighting. Whenever the two argued from that moment on, all their mother had to do was remind them, "Ariana wouldn't like seeing her brothers fight, now would she?"

Albus loved her so much… knowing how sweet and thoughtful she had been. He only wished that he hadn't forgotten it until it was too late.

The present-day Albus opened his eyes as distant memories that were so hazy that he wasn't entirely sure if he had remembered them or simply dreamt them up. He reached up with his finger to stroke Fawkes, who was still settled in on his shoulder and rubbed his beautiful head against his cheek.

Fawkes, who had ever been a source of comfort to him, merely chirped sadly as Albus gave him a rather watery smile, trying to keep those bitter thoughts from clouding his mind.

"I honestly can't say how my life would have turned out if fate had been kinder to my sister," he told the bird, who looked back with interest. "But until that terrible day… I had a happy and normal childhood. Well, as normal as one can have with having a little wild, untamed brother like Aberforth."

Albus lowered his head as more thoughts came in.

"My sister was always like a butterfly," he told his friend, "Beautiful… delicate… but so full of life as well. I believe that had things been different… she would have become someone truly special. And she is still special… to me… and to Aberforth. I don't see how I could have ever forgotten about that."

He turned his gaze back to the window and stared at the sunlit grounds, hardly aware of the time that was passing.

"Our family was small but whole," he went on as he shut his eyes and thought back to one of the days that they spent before everything fell apart.

*Flashback*

 _"No!" Albus said, taking the small book from his mother's hands and flipping through it until he found 'The Tale of the Three Brothers' and held it out for her. "This one!"_

 _"But I wanted to hear about Grumble!" Aberforth had cried out, reaching out to take it back._

 _"Shh," mother said, shifting the year old Ariana in her arms. Albus glanced over his shoulder as his father laughed, the fire in the grate illuminating his face and causing his eyes to twinkle more than usual._

 _"Oh, Kendra," he said, falling cross-legged to the floor where his sons were sitting before grabbing Aberforth in his arms. "I'm sure that we have time to read both stories before we hall these trouble-makers off to bed?"_

 _"It's already late," she looked down at Ariana with concern. "Ariana is almost dozing off."_

 _But the little girl reached up with tiny fingers, cooing softly and her mother couldn't help but smile back._

 _"Consider it a reward for the boys behaving so well during the family picture that we took earlier," their father offered, "Which I was very impressed with, by the way. We'll start with Albus's choice first."_

 _"But…" Aberforth began as his father ran his hand through his younger son's hair, telling him to shush._

 _"We'll listen to Grumble afterwards, alright?" he promised as his wife settled Ariana on her lap and opened up the book once again. Albus laid out on the rug, warming himself by the fire as he took in every word that his mother read out. Though he already knew the story by heart, he couldn't help but want to hear it over and over._

 _That way, when he went to sleep at night, he could dream of those wondrous objects._

 _*End of Flashback*_

Albus opened his eyes once more as he came back to reality.

"We didn't have much money, but we always had more than enough food on our table and father would work hard to make sure that each of our birthdays were special," he went on to Fawkes. "And he never passed up an opportunity to tell mother how much he cared about her."

He absent-mindedly stroked Fawkes's feathers as he went on, "My brother and I were always at odds with each other. We were so… opposite. The older he got the more unruly he became… while I tried to act like a grown-up. As for Ariana… she was always the kindest and gentlest person I ever knew. She once even told me off for trying to kill a ladybug that wandered into the house."

He smiled sadly at the memory before it faded.

"If I think hard enough… I think I remember the last time that I saw her before… before. I'm going to tell you something that I was never able to come out and say before," he told Fawkes quietly. "The day… the day that our lives were changed forever."

 ***1889***

"Ariana, were you getting into my candy again?" nine-year-old Albus scolded as Ariana jumped a little and spun about with a guilty smile on her face.

"I just took one," she said holding up the brown sack of candy that she found. "I just wanted to try it. I promise!"

Albus took the bag from her and she smiled sweetly before he reached into the bag and held out another candy for her.

"Don't tell," he warned teasingly as she little out a trill of happiness that reminded him of a bird before she went skipping out of the room, pausing only to ask him, "Did the rain stop, Al?"

"Just now," Albus told her, knowing that she wanted to go outside and look at her little garden where she planted flowers with mother. "But I don't think that the flowers are growing yet. It's all mud out there."

"I know! But I want to go check," she said excitedly. "Mother and I planted all sorts of seeds! And I want to be there when they come up!"

And she then went skipping out of his room and down the stairs as he laughed and tucked his bag of candy under his mattress, planning to find a better hiding spot later.

"Mother's making cookies," Albus said to himself, thinking of his mother's cooking with his mouth beginning to water, "I better get there first so I don't have to fight Abe over the spoon."

And he did end up having to wrestle the wooden spoon from his brother until mother set the mixing bowl down and said that there was plenty to go around for everyone. Sharing was an important thing to learn after all and she expected better of them by now.

Their father soon walked in, carrying a set of books and dropped them half-hazard upon the table before walking up and wrapping his arms around their mother.

"Something smells good," he stated as he kissed her. "I don't suppose we can have dessert before dinner…?"

"Honestly," she said, rolling her eyes and guessing where his train of thought was going. "You're becoming as bad as the boys. Now I know where they get it from."

Albus shared a grin with Aberforth as their father pretended to be offended.

"Where's Ari?" Aberforth asked as he watched his mother waved her wand and they watched how the dough flew up and began to separate into perfect sizes upon the cookie sheet and were slowly heating up.

"She went out back to look at the garden," their mother informed him. "In fact…" she looked up to the window and added, "It's starting to get late. And it looks like it might rain again. I hope she doesn't tread mud into the kitchen again."

"I'll go out and look for her," their father offered, clearly looking for an excuse not to have to get back to work and left.

He wasn't gone for long.

Even decades later… Albus could remember that terrible moment.

It would haunt him forever. That much he knew.

Exactly what the actions were that led up to that moment, he wasn't sure… only that by the time that their mother let both him and Aberforth enjoy the spoon and mixing bowl… just as she was about to get to work on the frosting… when… when…?

There was a roar of rage that seemed to drown out the thunder from earlier, making all three of them jump and their mother drop the bag of sugar, spilling its contents all over the floor.

"What in the…?" she began, going to the window to see what was going on. That was when she gasped in horror and all but flew to the door, just as their father almost wrenched it off its hinges as he all but kicked it down. Both boys jumped up from the table when their father came in—white as a sheet and carrying Ariana… who was covered with bruises… and her favorite blue dress was torn and stained with blood.

"Ariana!" his mother cried, and for the first time in his memory, the smile was wiped off her face as she quickly guiding the two up the stairs. The boys just looked at each other, pale and scared as they dropped the dough-filled bowl and followed.

His parents took Ariana up to their room and they heard the door shut by the time they reached the landing. The two were both having to fight over listening at the keyhole as they tried to look in and see what was going on.

"I got out there in time to see the bastards running for the hills," Albus heard his father say as their mother let out a strangled sob. Albus had never heard his father sound as angry as he did right now. Not even the time that he and Aberforth broke into a fist fight because Abe broke his toy broomstick.

"Apparently they saw her doing magic and I heard them yelling that she was a freak for making the flowers grow like that," their father went on. "When they saw me they took off but… but…?"

Unable to wait any longer, Aberforth jumped up and opened the door, demanding out, "What's going on?"

"Abe!" Albus said as they both went tumbling into the room. Albus got a sight of seeing his sister, white as a ghost, and lying on their parent's bed as their mother was tending to her, not looking at anything else as tears fell down her face.

Their father, whom Albus had always remembered to be joking and smiling… was now his face was both great and terrible in his anger. There was no smile upon his face, no twinkle in his eyes… simply holding nothing but fury in those blue depths… a kind of energy flowing off him as if some kind of burning heat…

Albus couldn't remember feeling as scared as he did at that moment. Both he and his brother stared up with terror at their father, who was breathing hard.

"Both of you go to your room," their father said, pointing down the hall, as if afraid if he spoke too much he would start yelling at them, "Now. No arguing. Please… not today."

Neither boy dared to say a word. They did what they were told and retreated to their room, locking the door behind them as they sat on their beds… wondering just what was happening.

 **(So sad… I can't help but feel that whatever happened to Ariana wasn't fair! But this was my take on what happened. Can't say for sure about their ages. But Albus had already left Hogwarts by the time that Ariana died at fifteen years old. So, he would have to be… either 17 or 18 at that point. I figure that he would have just turned 18 so is three years older this his sister. And as the middle child, Aberforth will be… roughly a year to a year and a half younger than Albus. So by the time that Ariana is born, Albus would have been three, ready to move onto four, and Aberforth would be almost 2. As for the cute little moments in between? I figured that they would all have been a close family and had a rather normal childhood for a wizarding household. I could see them happy and content with their place in life. Which is what makes what happened all the more tragic. Also, I'm trying to think like how a little boy would think when he's told that his parents are having a baby. I went for both excited when he first learned he was going to be a big brother… and less than thrilled after having Aberforth and being told that there is another on the way.)**


	3. Broken Minds and Shattered Hearts

**Chapter 2: Broken Minds and Shattered Hearts**

 ***1889***

The rain that mother had been worried about came later that evening. The clouds came rolling in and before they knew it, a massive thunderstorm erupted outside. The wind caused their shutters to shake and the rain pounded the roof so hard that it was as a heard of Hippogriffs were walking across.

Not that either boy paid much attention to it.

Albus sat on the floor of his room with Aberforth, both of them remaining silent as they listened to the storm. Aberforth jumped every once in awhile when the thunder sounded—Aberforth hated storms—and hug his quilt around him a little tighter.

It wasn't until well after dinner did their father come into their room.

Both of them jumped to their feet as he stepped in, looking so tired at that moment. Very rarely had Albus ever seen his father without a smile. But now he looked so much older than he could ever remember seeing. He was very pale and his hand shook a little as he used his wand to brighten the lanterns around them.

"Come on, boys," he told them both tiredly as he led them out of the room. "I'm sorry dinner is so late. We won't be having much right now, but we'll make up for it later."

"Where's Ariana?" Aberforth asked quickly as they followed their father out of the room.

"Your mother is looking after her," he answered.

His tone spoke so grimly about it, that both boys were afraid to press the matter. They stayed uncharacteristically silent as he led them down to the kitchen and sat them up in their chairs. Instead of a big meal, they only had bread, a few apples, and some cheese for their dinner that night—the dough they had been working on for the cookies had been left out and their father merely threw what was left of it away—not that anyone was in the mood to really eat. Albus merely picked at his food while Aberforth was just playing with his absent-mindedly.

Once the silence was too much to bear, Albus set his half-eaten apple down and asked, "What happened to Ariana? Is she going to be alright?"

Aberforth looked up at once with wide eyes as their father sighed.

"Listen," their father said as he swallowed his bit of bread. "Your sister… is in bad shape. She was… attacked by a group of Muggle boys."

"What?" Aberforth demanded, rising from his chair as his pale face was turning red from anger. Father waved his hand down at him.

"Abe, please," he said, "Let me finish before you start shouting. I went out earlier to look for her and I found those boys… I found them…?"

He seemed too angry to speak at that moment. Albus didn't want to imagine what those boys did to Ariana, but he felt his own anger rise at the thought. His hands curled up into fists and he was visited with a violent urge to go out and curse those boys so badly that they crawl home like insects.

"From what I think happened," their father said after taking several deep breaths to calm himself down, "She was making the garden flowers grow. The boys saw what she was doing through the garden hedge and forced their way through to demand she show them the trick. When she couldn't show them… they got scared of her and attacked her."

"So go report them!" Albus demanded, "Go to the Ministry and get them to pay for what they did!"

Aberforth was all for going with father to hunt down those boys himself, and was giving out all manner of threats until their father shook his head.

"Not until we find out more about Ariana," he said firmly. "I don't want to leave until we know how she is going to be first. Once she wakes up… we'll… we'll figure what to do. For now, I want everyone to stay inside until we figure that out. Do you understand?"

Both boys were sitting there mutinous. Albus couldn't believe that they would be forced to sit and wait. After hearing what happened? Those boys attacked his baby sister! Why weren't they going out and making them pay?

"We can't risk Muggles finding out about the Wizarding World," father had said over and over as he took them back up to their room. "For now, we wait and see. We'll make sure those boys pay for what they did to your sister. But until then, I want you both to stay calm and wait. That's the best that we can do for now."

"Can… can we see her?" Aberforth asked.

Albus had expected father to tell them no, but he seemed to sense how upset they were and brought them to the room he shared with mother. Their mother was sitting on the edge of the bed as she dabbed a thick paste-like substance on Ariana's face. Ariana had always been very thin and small for her age, but now she looked even tinier than usual. Her face, which was usually so happy and rosy was as pale as new-fallen snow. Her laughter, which was normally so contagious, and a slight giggle when she slept as if dreaming of wondrous things… was as a graveyard as she laid there silently.

Albus looked to his mother, whose eyes was red and swollen from the tears she shed, looked up at them with slight surprise.

"They wanted to see how you both were doing," father said as Aberforth ran forward to her and flung his arms around his mother's shaking shoulders.

Albus walked a little slower to her with his father as stared in horror at the bandages that covered Ariana's still form. He could see the shadows of bruises covering her face… the impression of fingers wrapped around her neck… the way she wheezed slightly as she breathed in and out…?

All that was only making him angry and he was trembling slightly as Aberforth went to the other side of the bed and took Ariana's hand.

"Is she going to wake up?" Abe asked mother tearfully.

"Of course she's going to wake up," Kendra said with a forced smile that he knew that she was scared. "Your sister just… just needs sleep. Sleep is often the best kind of medicine. You'll see."

No one really spoke as they stood by the bed and began to wish that Ariana would be alright. Aberforth stayed by his mother's side as she treated his sister, wanting to do whatever he could to help. Father left the room for a moment, though he didn't say why… Albus just stood there. He stood there with his head down and his auburn hair fell into his face as he began to wish with all his heart that Ariana would wake up. That she would open those sweet, blue eyes and give them a giggle before asking him for some sweets.

Finally, father came back into the room, and Albus was surprised to see that he was dripping wet.

"Father?" he asked as he walked in and patted him on the top of his head.

"Dear?" mother asked in surprise.

"I'm fine," he promised, pulling out his wand and waving to dry himself off. "I wanted to check where those boys went. I was right. They were some village boys… they ran off home and…?"

He trailed off as Albus saw his hand shaking as he put his wand away.

"Percival?" she asked as she rose from the bed and went to him as he took several breaths.

"I didn't do anything," he promised her. "I just… needed to make sure I knew where they were. That way…"

He trailed off, unable to finish that. Instead, with a great breath of air, he told both him and Aberforth to get ready for bed.

"No, I want to stay with her," Aberforth said as Albus nodded.

"It's late, boys," father told them tiredly, "I promise, we'll take care of her. I just want you both to go to bed and get some sleep. And no fighting tonight, please."

Both boys argued, but their mother agreed that it was already late. At that, Albus watched how his father walked up behind their mother and wrapped his arms around her in a hug.

"You're another one who needs some rest," he told her firmly but gently, "I'll take over and watch her. Besides, I'm afraid if I leave those two alone for too long?"

"Hey," they both recited and faint smiles appeared on all four of them, before fading when they looked back at Ariana.

But their mother agreed once more and left the room with the boys. "I'll be sleeping in Ariana's room for tonight," she told them both as she tucked them into bed. "Your father and sister will have our room until she wakes up. I'm sorry if we don't have a story tonight. We'll have to wait until things get better. Alright?"

"But why can't we go after those boys who did this?" Aberforth demanded as mother tucked his quilt around him. "It's their fault they hurt her! They should pay!"

"I know, I know," mother told them, "But I'm afraid that things aren't that simple. Right now, our biggest concern should be helping your sister get well again. And when she is, then we will deal with those horrid boys. Patience, sweetheart."

Aberforth still looked angry and rolled over on his side, sniffling slightly as she got up and went over to his bed.

"You don't have to tuck me in, mother," Albus told her as she smoothed out his own quilt. "I'm not a little kid anymore."

She then smiled slightly as she leaned in and kissed his forehead. Despite the fact that he said he didn't want it, he couldn't deny that he needed it.

"You'll always be my baby," she told him quietly. "All three of you. So, be nice, alright? And when things are better around here, we'll have a big feast to celebrate. Alright?"

Albus thought that over before nodding. He still didn't like it, but he didn't want to upset mother any more than she was already. He let her finish tucking him in before she waved her wand and he felt the blankets warm up so that he was surprisingly comfortable even as the storm raged on outside his window.

He felt his eyelids grow heavy even as she got up and left the room, leaving them in darkness.

"Al?"

Albus turned his head in the direction of his brother's bed, where he could see the shadowy form of Aberforth moving, rolling over, and asking, "You think that Ariana is going to be alright?"

"Mother and father are looking after her," he said, trying not to think about what would happen if she wasn't. The image of his sister, hurt and sick, lying in bed as still as one of her dolls… he couldn't stand it.

"Let's just sleep," he said, "We'll see her tomorrow. And then we can figure how to get back at those guys who did this."

"Yeah, I'm gonna break all their teeth," Aberforth muttered, "And curse them so badly that they turn into fungus."

With his brother muttering all manner of threats, Albus felt his eyes close as the rain pattered against his window. He soon fell into an uneasy sleep of dreams of creeping shadows and his sister crying out for help. He was soon awoken though, when he felt his bed shake. He opened his eyes and stared at the wall opposite him, realizing that it was still very dark out and the rain was still hammering against the roof. He realized that he hadn't been asleep for long and wondered if it was the loud BOOM of the thunder outside that awoke him.

At least until he realized that the shaking had come from his brother who had climbed into bed with him.

"What are you doing?" he hissed at him as he shook from underneath the blanket.

"I hate thunder," Aberforth whispered back, "And I couldn't sleep. Can I stay here?"

Normally, Albus would have snapped at him to go back to sleep in his own bed. But… with so much that happened that day, he let out a defeated sigh and rolled back over so that he wouldn't have to look at him.

"Fine," he grumbled, "But just for tonight. And don't kick me."

It was a sign of how worried he was that he couldn't bring himself to snap at Aberforth that night. Perhaps it wasn't just Aberforth who needed to be reminded that someone else was there; soon though, both boys had fallen asleep even as the storm raged on outside.

They would be awoken for a second time that night, however. In the early hours of the morning, where the storm slowly starting to let up by that point, when they heard the petrified scream coming from down the hall.

Both of them were wide awake as they sat upright in bed, staring around.

"Ariana!" Aberforth shouted as he scrambled out of bed and dropped to the floor, landing hard on his backside before stumbling to his feet. Albus was almost as graceful as his brother was, tripping over him as they tried to beat the other to the door. They got stuck in the doorway before forcing their way through and hitting the floor again. Before they could get back up, their mother had come sprinting out of the room a little bit ahead of them and was calling out Ariana and father's names.

That was when Albus saw the strange light radiating from inside their parents' bedroom at the end of the hall and their father having been knocked back as if he was punched by some unseen force. Inside he heard his sister's crying sobs, screaming out wildly that not even the BOOM of the thunder could drown out.

"Percival!" mother cried as she raced to their father, "What's happening?"

She then gasped and as Albus got back to his feet, he saw why. Their father had cuts on his face and was bleeding as if he had been struck with a knife—his eyes were wide and fearful as he looked back to her.

"I'm fine," he said as he looked back to the room to where the blue light was blazing as if there was a fire set. "She woke up screaming and I can't get close enough to calm her down. As soon as I did though, her magic rose up and starting lashing out at everything near her. I don't think she can control it…?"

Ariana screamed again and Albus felt fear grip his heart when mother went running into the room. He saw how his father reached out to try and stop her, yet she yelled that she would deal with it and to stop the boys.

Speaking of which, both he and Aberforth were crying out to their father, trying to figure out what was going on, as they ran over. He tackled them both to the floor just as another surge of power exploded out of the room as wild as a bolt of lightning. Albus's eyes were wide as he clung to his father, watching, nay feeling, this surge of power lashing out with violence. His father merely held onto him and Abe tightly, both to try and protect them from whatever was causing this, and to prevent them from racing into the room.

After several tense minutes though, the light dimmed and the cries slowly began to fade. Breathing hard, their father slowly got to his feet, still holding onto both of his sons as he crept closer. Albus cautiously stuck his head around the corner to look into the room to see that his mother was holding onto Ariana on the bed.

She had cuts over her arms and hands as she held onto Ariana, cooing to her and calming her as the little girl was curled up so tightly into a ball that it was as if she didn't want to ever open up again. Their mother merely held her tightly as she ran her hand through her daughter's tangled hair and hummed a song to calm her down.

But what amazed him the most was the light that shone from Ariana. She was alight with a powerful blue glow… the same light that he saw burning before… it was as if a powerful light was shining from within her and she had turned into a living flame.

"Ariana, it's alright, I'm here," mother said softly, "You're safe with us."

"No…" Ariana said, her voice muffled from where her face was pressed against her knees. "NO… NO! NO! NO! NO! NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

And then without warning, she let out another scream as this surge of energy broke out of her tiny body. Their father forced both him and his brother to the floor again as this power became a river and broke right through the wall and escaped into the night.

Albus just stared there with terrified eyes at the man-size hole in the wall… trembling as he clung to his father and prayed that it was all just a bad dream. Yet as the rain fell inside and he felt the cold on his face, he knew that this was no dream. More like a nightmare made real.

 ***1 Week later***

"I'm not sure what else we can do now," father sighed, sounding exhausted. The four of them were in the kitchen that day, everyone too tired to even eat. After Ariana woke up screaming, her control over her own magic was completely severed and was exploding out of her unexpectedly and dangerously.

Their mother was able to find ways to calm her down whenever she got into a rage, but not before causing some form of damage to the house and with injuries to either herself or father.

When Albus finally worked up the courage to ask what was wrong with her, they weren't able to give an answer that he felt he understood. All he could make out was that whatever those boys did to her, she tried to lock her own magic inside her, to get rid of it. But instead, it drove inwards and damaged her mind.

Since then, it was just one outburst after another. The storm from that night had finally passed over and the weather was clear and sunny out… though Albus felt that it was just mocking them now.

"Seven outbursts so far," father sighed again, so tired that he was having trouble keeping his eyes open. His arms were both heavily bandaged and he added a generous amount of Firewhiskey to his tea as he leaned against the counter. "It's not as bad as it was a week ago. But still…?"

Albus looked up as their mother ran a shaking hand through her hair. Her face was so sad and worn now that he was fearing that she would never smile again.

"Father, why don't we take her to St. Mungo's?" he asked, knowing that the magical hospital was well known for their gifted healers. "Surely they could…?"

"We can't," their mother interrupted him before he could finish, trembling as she got to her feet and went to the sink to enchant the dishes to clean themselves. "If we take Ariana to St. Mungo's they'll lock her up there."

"Why?" Aberforth demanded hotly, "She didn't do anything wrong?"

"She's sick, dear," she said sadly, "I'm afraid that they will think that she's dangerous. They could lock her up in the hospital."

"But…?" Albus began, "She'll get better there, won't she? Then when she is, she could come home?"

He didn't understand why they were shaking their heads. Just what was wrong with their sister?

"It's not that easy, lad," their father said grimly, "Your sister… she's… not well. And I'm afraid that there's a good chance she won't ever return to how she was before. Not from this state."

"If we admit her to St. Mungo's, we would only be allowed to see her during visiting hours," mother added tearfully, "And I don't think that we could bear that. They won't be able to cure her. But if she stays home with her family where it's quiet and safe… perhaps… one day… she may be able to recover enough for a normal life…?"

But Albus could tell that she had doubt in her tone. She didn't truly think that their sister was going to get better, but she wanted to hold onto hope that she could.

That was what life was like for the next couple of weeks, holding onto hope that she will be better—if not today then maybe tomorrow there would be improvement. The happy, laughing household that he once knew was no more and it was like they were forced to tiptoeing everywhere… for just the tiniest thing could cause her to flip out. From something simple like a loud noise or even the sight of a wand could cause her to panic and her powers rose out of her without any control.

She was like a firework that could go off at any moment if she lost control of her emotions. All it took was a few sparks and then an explosion would be close behind.

Abe did his best to cheer up Ariana and make her laugh; he would go to her with treats and play games with her until he got a smile out of her. Soon, just being able to see her smile or hear a laugh was enough to make him happy and Ariana seemed to like it when he was happy. It did help some, but there was always a tenseness in the air.

Albus, meanwhile, turned to books. He and his father would turn to books on medicine and healing, trying to see if they could find any way to help restore Ariana to normal or at least, help her control her out-of-control magic.

"Father?" Albus asked after laying aside one book and went for another, "Just what is causing this? All of the books I'm looking through isn't telling us exactly what's going on and…?"

"I don't know," father told him as he rubbed his tired eyes as dust was shaken loose from the ceiling… a sign that Ariana was starting to rage again, "But it won't happen again."

It would be a while later before Albus understood what his father meant by that.

Father was different from that moment on. Always looking out the window, as if waiting for something. But Albus was too frightened to ask what it was as he focused himself on his task. While he had always enjoyed reading, this time he found that he was able to focus on something other than the reality that was his life now.

He found out what had been weighing his father's mind down eventually… one month after the attack.

Ariana was calm after having woken from a nap and mother carried downstairs. Mother petted her hair lovingly as she promised to be a good girl until dinner if she could have a cookie.

She walked into the living room where Albus was lying on the couch and reading another book while Abe was on the rug in front of the fireplace, his snores filling the room. Ariana's eyes were drawn to the pencils on the floor where Aberforth had been drawing and reached out her thin arms to grab them.

"Al? Have your seen your father around here?" mother asked him as she gently set Ariana down onto the rug with her brother.

"No, mother," he recited as he turned the page, disappointed that he wasn't able to find anything that could help so far. "He went outside after breakfast today."

"That's strange," mother said as she left the room to look for him, "Please keep an eye on Ariana until I find him."

Albus nodded absent-mindedly as he continued reading. Sometime later, Aberforth woke up to see that Ariana was drawing and he happily joined in with her. They remained in that comfortable quiet for the most of the day… not realizing just how much more their lives were about to change. After several hours in the late afternoon, Albus finally finished the book and threw it to the side, rubbing his tired eyes as he blinked around the room.

Ariana and Aberforth had been building a fort out of the couch cushions and were now were giggling to themselves inside the massive pile of pillows. He smirked slightly as he jumped down and announced that he was going to go and look for mother.

They ignored him as he went wandering through the house, wondering just what was taking mother so long.

He wish he didn't.

He went upstairs, calling out to his mother when he saw the door to his parents' bedroom open and crying. Concerned, he went to see what was going on, and when he peeked in, his mother was sitting on the bed, sobbing into her hands; an open letter lying next to her on the bed.

"Mother?" he asked as he stepped into the room, "What is it? What's wrong?"

She jumped at his voice, looking up with that same wild stare that wasn't unlike Ariana when she lost control. But when she saw who it was, she began crying once more. Afraid that he did something to upset her, he ran to her, taking her hands in his own and apologizing for scaring her.

But she was shaking her head sadly as she looked to the letter next to her.

Albus took the letter, while his mother was so overcome with tears she didn't even bother to try and stop him. He opened it up and saw the crest of the Ministry there.

That was when he learned the horrible truth. The reason his father had went out this morning and had yet to return. The letter had come from the Ministry, and said that his father attacked a group of Muggle boys from the village and as a result was now under arrest. A group of Aurors had come to collect him, and he would be held at the Ministry until his trial.

He could barely believe what his father had done something like this. He looked up wildly at his mother and demanded, "What happened? What's father done?"

His mother merely pulled him into her arms and hugged him sadly as she told him what she knew.

"He told me that he wanted to make those boys pay for what they did," she whispered. "The night that your sister was attacked, he went to the village to track them down that day… only to discover that they were laughing about what they did. And after seeing what became of Ariana… knowing what life was going to be like for her from now on? I guess he couldn't take it. I didn't know he had left until that letter arrived. But I guess he went after those boys, determined to ruin their lives just as he did Ariana's."

"Why not go to the Ministry about them?" Albus demanded, pulling his head back from them. "If he told them what happened, they would have punished them for it, and father wouldn't have had to…?"

But she looked doubtful as she whispered mournfully, "Because your father believes that the Ministry will merely tell us that we should have taken better precautions not to be seen by Muggles. At best, they would modify those boys memories so that they don't remember what they did to Ariana. They will not risk the secrecy of the Wizarding World no matter how bad the crime is."

"But that…!" Albus began, growing furious at this.

"I know, I know," she told him as she hugged him tighter. "Your father couldn't stand the thought either. But what else could he do? We all know that if the Ministry learned what Ariana has become, they would take her away from us because they would see her as a threat to the secrecy of wizards. They wouldn't risk that if they knew how unstable she was."

"But what will happen to father?" Albus demanded, wanting answers, "What did he do to those boys? And what's going to happen to him?"

But she shook her head, unable to answer him. But he could read between the lines of her expression. She did not believe that he would be allowed to come home. He had given up everything in revenge for Ariana and now would be forced to pay for it.

"Why?" Albus asked as he also began to cry, the stress and grief he felt all month came welling up inside him until he couldn't hold it back. "I don't understand! He knew what was going to happen so why did he do it?"

"Because he is a father who loves his children more than anything," mother said as she held him tightly against her, "And he did it because he couldn't sit there any longer with the knowledge that those boys got away without being punished for what they did."

"But will he be able to come home?" Albus demanded.

"If he tells the court the real reason he did it, I believe that he may receive more sympathy for his actions," she admitted carefully to him, unable to meet his eyes. "He will still have to pay for his actions, but…?"

She trailed off but Albus knew what she was going to say.

"He's not going to tell them, is he?" Albus asked, "They'll think that he's some… awful Muggle hater, won't they?"

She closed her eyes as more tears fell down her cheeks.

"I know it's hard to explain," she said, "And even harder to understand. But know that love doesn't always make sense. We often do what we do because we hurt to see someone we love so much in pain."

Albus didn't understand. In fact, it would be many years before he did understand.

But for right now, he was just a little boy who needed his mother. He flung himself into her warm embrace and held on tightly as they cried together, mourning over their broken family.

 ***2 weeks later***

His father's trial came and went.

Like he and his mother thought, father confessed to the crime of attacking those boys without giving away the real reason he was compelled to do so. For this actions, he was sentence to life in the wizard prison Azkaban. He didn't fight it nor did he plea for mercy. In fact, father didn't do anything as they kept him in a holding cell before they were to transport him to the prison.

Before he was taken away, though, the family was allowed to visit one last time.

"Dumbledore," the Auror called to him. "Your family is here to see you. You are to be taken off to Azkaban after you speak to them. Make the most of your time left."

Albus entered the room with Aberforth at his side and their mother trailing behind them, her head held down. Albus saw the once-handsome, always laughing man he had come to know as his father sitting opposite him. Only now, he looked drawn, even ill, as he sat slumped over in the chair. He had already been changed out of his usual bright robes and into a set of prison robes reserved only for inmates. His hair was now dirty and hung about his face, making him look older… and sadder than ever.

His arms were being held by restraints behind his back, so when he and Aberforth ran forward to hug him, he was unable to hug back. Instead, he shifted from his seat and dropped to his knees and leaned over them as they held on tightly.

"Father!" they cried together and looked back to smile at him.

"Don't worry about this, father," Aberforth told him, "We can get you out of here! Al says that all we need to do is talk to the Ministry and we can…?"

"No, boys," he said and took them by surprise, "Don't even think about it."

"Why don't you listen?" Albus said, feeling a little annoyed. He had been thinking about a plan ever since that day he realized that his father would almost certainly be going to Azkaban. He had given it a lot of thought and planned over every detail in his mind on what he would say to the Ministry. If that didn't work, then he also came up with a back-up plan on how he could escape from that prison. They would then have to keep father at home in secret, like with Ariana, but at least they didn't have to worry about him being taken away from them.

"No, boys," father repeated firmly, shaking his head with a sigh. He then looked down at him, his blues eyes were dull and lifeless… as if the usual twinkle had gone out.

"Well, if we can't tell them the truth, then we have no choice, father," Albus pointed out. "What else could we do?"

"Al, I'm sure that you have many clever ideas," he said before his lips twitched slightly and added, "But you don't even have your wand yet. I'm afraid that this is not something you can fix."

"But father," Albus countered, ready to go over the entire plan to him, yet his father merely shook his head grimly and asked, "Al, do you really think that you can fend off hundreds of dementors and Aurors on your own?"

Now Albus was getting angry and opened his mouth to argue. He was about to shout at him for daring to abandon them when they needed him most, that he was throwing his life away when his father spoke again.

Percival took a deep breath and went on in a voice of forced calm, as if he knew exactly what Albus was about to say, "Son, please listen. Just this once, listen. I know you are a clever boy. I believe that one day you'll grow talented enough that such things like breaking out of prison will be a simple matter for you. But Al, right now, you don't have that kind of power. Instead, it's going to get you killed."

"No, it won't…" Albus began, feeling abashed.

"If you are as clever as you say you are, then you know that I'm speaking the truth," his father interrupted gently once again. "You know that this plan can't work."

"But I just…"

"Just let it go," Father said firmly, "You know why I am doing this. Why I didn't tell them the truth. Do you understand that what you are doing isn't going to work?"

Albus felt the tears fill his eyes as he nodded.

"What?" Aberforth demanded, staring from his father to his brother with wide eyes, "No!"

"Father's right," Albus sniffled, rubbing his eyes on the scratchy robe he was wearing. "I don't have the power to pull it off. Even with the unbeatable wand from the Tale of the Three Brothers, I don't think I can do it. I knew it… I just don't want to admit to it. I wanted to go ahead with it anyway though. Because even just trying felt better than not doing anything at all."

"But Al…" Aberforth started as he began crying when Albus looked away.

"And if we tell anyone the truth then Ariana will be taken away!" Albus asked, "What else can we do?"

"Albus," his father said as he leaned his head against his son's forehead, "I know that it's easy to pretend that nothing bad can come from your actions. But you need to understand that you can't play with lives no matter how good the reason is. Do you understand? Do you know how most mistakes are made? Not from inaction… but from hasty, ill-thought out actions." He then sighed as he added, "I would have thought that my choices were enough to convince you of that."

"Yes, father," Albus muttered as tears continued to fall, "I'll remember that."

He hated it. He hated it so much. But deep down, he was well-aware that even if they decided to go through with his idea, the fact that he could pull it off was laughable at best. Still, he couldn't bear the thought of just sitting back and allow them to take his father away without a fight.

What could a little kid who didn't even have his wand yet do?

"Good boy," father said kindly before looking at them both, "Now then, I want you two to listen. This is going to be the last request I ever ask of you, and I want you both to keep to it. Your mother and your sister need you more than I do. I want you to promise me that you will look after them both. Your mother will be needing help with her. And boys, remember that you both are brothers. So please, try to get along. Can you at least try not to fight so often?"

"Yes father," they said and he smiled before looking at his elder son, who was still shaking, his tiny shoulders trembling with the weight of what was about to happen.

"Albus," father said, "Someday, you will understand."

But Albus didn't want to understand. He didn't want to sit here and let his entire world fall apart now.

"Why did you attack those boys when you knew this could happen?" he asked him as his father sighed again. "What were you thinking?"

"I wasn't," his father confessed sadly, "All I could think of was how unfair it was that those boys got to go home to their families… not thinking twice about the little girl that they scarred so badly. The injustice of it all rose up within me until I could think of nothing else. While I am not sorry that those boys were made to pay… I am sorry that I will not be able to see you kids grow up."

He then watched as his father's eyes drifted upwards to where their mother still stood by the door, not moving, not saying a word, her head still down as he talked.

Father then turned his gaze away from her as he finished, "Sometimes… the heart can blind us to what is truly important."

Albus still wasn't sure he understood as Aberforth flung his arms around his father's neck and said goodbye, promising that he would take care of Ariana.

"Goodbye, son," he said gently as Aberforth let go. The two of them looked up at him, as if expecting him to hug him as well… yet Albus found he couldn't even look at his father anymore and merely turned away.

He kept his head turned even as his father and brother spoke more. He was so miserable inside that he barely paid any attention to what the two were saying. In fact, he didn't look up at all until his mother finally stepped forward and father slowly got back to his feet.

"My dearest?" she asked softly as he kept his head down, looking away from her. Albus looked up in time to see his mother stretching out her arms to touch him—her long sleeves hiding the cuts she received from Ariana that morning.

"Please look at me," she begged. But father still kept his head down to the floor, as if he couldn't bring himself to look her in the face.

Instead, he kept his eyes closed as he leaned his forehead against her and whispered how sorry he was.

"You can't change what happened," she said as she gently tilted his head up and forced him to look into her own sad eyes.

"Know that no matter what you may have done. I still love you," she promised, "Always."

That was when she wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close as he asked after Ariana.

"Still the same," she confessed sadly, as if they were hoping that by attacking those boys it could miraculously restore her to normal. "I gave her a sleeping potion before we left. I told her that she would just sleep for a while and we will be there when she woke up."

"It's alright," he told her, "I know that it was far too dangerous to bring her with you. I'm only sorry I couldn't say goodbye to her as well."

"Well, I'm sure that I'll be able to tell you how the children are doing later," she said, as if determined to look on the brighter side. "I spoke to the Aurors about it, and they told me that because I'm your wife, I'm allowed to visit once a week. I can't bring the children to that place, but I'll be sure to…"

"No, my dearest," he interrupted, taking her by surprise. "Don't. After this moment, I want you to forget that I exist."

Albus stared at him as his mother was taken aback by his sudden cold reply.

"What?" she asked, her eyes wide, "I don't understand."

He leaned his head against hers, nuzzling it in a loving way before explaining, "You know as well as I do what Azkaban will do to a normal person. Azkaban will steal my sanity, my love. I'm not under any delusions of being able to survive that forever. In fact, I doubt that I will have much left to live for after I am being taken away—knowing I will never see you or our children again. I rather that you remember me as I am now. Better that than whatever I become after Azkaban is finished with me."

"You can't ask me never to see you again," she said, now sounding upset and Albus wanted to scream at his father for making their mother so unhappy.

"I know, but please," father begged softly, as she hugged him again. "At least you know the truth. The real reasons. That will be enough for me. But as far as things are concerned, after I am taken from this room, I am dead to you all. You must forget my existence."

Albus watched as his mother held on, as if hoping that if she did for long enough, she would never have to let go. But finally, the Aurors returned.

"Dumbledore," one of them said, "It's time to go. Everything is ready."

Percival Dumbledore looked up with tears in his eyes before asking in a voice that Albus no longer recognized, for he had never heard his father sound so broken before.

"Just one more minute," he begged them, unable to bear leaving them until he absolutely had to. Perhaps they could see the tears in their eyes and felt sorry for them, for they agreed. But only one minute more.

They stood outside the door, leaving the family to their final moments together. Mother gazed up at his father long and hard as he stared hard back—as if trying to commit her face to his memory.

"If nothing else," he whispered to her, trying to force himself to smile, "Know that my feelings for you won't ever change, my love. That you will always be the most important person in my life and the time that we spent together? I don't regret."

She nodded, unable to find anything to say.

"My dearest," he told her as he drew closer. "I am so sorry. But how can I stand back and do nothing while this injustice stood? I know that I can't ask you to forgive me… that I am well aware of the fact that I am breaking the vows I spoke of the day that we wed—that I will be leaving you to soldier the burden that is left behind… and yet… despite all of that, I hope that one day you can understand why I did what I did."

She merely nodded. Whether it was because she did understand, or because she was trying to give him the last form of comfort he would ever have, Albus didn't know. All that he could remember after that was how they closed their eyes for their last kiss. Seeing them kiss was nothing new for Albus, they did it all the time. Though, ever since Ariana's attack, he realized that he hadn't seen either of them show any affection… yet this kiss was different.

It was so full of love… of sadness. Their pain so heavy that Albus could feel it in the air.

The door opened again and the Auror's were back, telling them that they could not wait any longer. Albus watched how his parents pulled away from each other, looking long into each other's faces. When his father leaned back, Albus heard him whisper one last thing to his mother.

"Goodbye… my dearest," he whispered, "And I am so sorry. So, so sorry…"

Albus stood there with Aberforth, who was now sobbing openly as the Auror escorted their father out of the room. He could see the pain in his father's face as the tears continued to flood down his face—his eyes screwed up in pain as if he was fighting the urge to cry out.

Albus only watched as the Auror's led him out of the cell and away from them.

Even years later, Albus could picture that scene in his head. The last time he would ever see his father. He joyful, loving man he had been was no more as a man filled with so much pain, his hands and wrists held in magical chains that prevented Apparition or from him to use magic… being led with an Auror on either side of him as he was dragged off into the dark hallways.

 ***July 31, 1943***

"That was the last time that I ever saw my father," Albus spoke absent-mindedly as he ran a finger down Fawkes feathered back once more as he looked at the bright sunshine in the late afternoon. If his insides could match the outside world at that moment, the entire grounds would be underneath a thick layer of snow and it would be a moonless night. Much like that day, the weather seemed to be mocking his miserable mood.

"He died almost 7 years later," he sighed absent-mindedly as he went on thinking, finding it easy to speak to Fawkes, "Like he wished though, we never went to visit him. He died alone in that terrible place and was laid to rest just outside the prison. While I understand his grief and why he went through with it… I just… I can't help but be angry with him. I'm angry that he was sent away and died while we needed him with us."

He shook his head and muttered, "I'm not a parent, so I can't say for certain why… but how could any father just leave their children like that?"

He ran a hand across his tired face as more memories came back to haunt him. After their father's imprisonment, he had done his best to keep the promise he made to him. He did his best to make sure that Ariana was safe and quiet even after their mothers' decision to move. It was a surprise to all three of them when she declared it at breakfast one day; though he understood now why she decided that seemingly out of the blue. Mother could not bear to be in that house any longer with so many memories. Though, Albus wasn't sure which memories haunted her more… the sad ones or the happy ones.

She had tried to soldier on and keep the family safe and happy… yet with the news all over the papers of what their father had done—they were receiving no shortage of attention. From disapproving letters of what a horrible man their father was, to sympathetic ones pitying the family… or those letters who were openly applauding Percival Dumbledore for what he had done.

Albus wasn't sure which letters he hated the most.

Mother bore with it as well as she could, but finally, almost three months after father was taken away, she could not bear to remain in those walls any longer. She moved them all in the dead of night to a small cottage, in a new neighborhood, to where they could hopefully have some quiet.

Albus remembered that night well. She had given Ariana another sleeping potion and she slept the entire trip as mother swept all their belongings into boxes and led the family out of the house. He remembered how he stood there at her side, her arms wrapped tightly around the sleeping Ariana, and Aberforth trying not to cry too loudly as they took one last look at their once warm and happy home underneath the starlight before mother led them away.

To the sleepy little village of Godric's Hallow.

Godric's Hallow was a nice place to live and under different circumstances, Albus would have been excited at the idea to be allowed to go to a new place.

Still, that wasn't easy for a long time.

Their mother kept all three of them at home for the first couple of months, terrified of opening the door to any of their new neighbors. She would often slam the door in their faces if anyone came calling and kept the drapes closed over all the windows.

Albus hated it. Hated feeling like he was locked up in a dungeon all day. The one good thing was that he was given his own bedroom again and he kept the windows opened all the time so that he could breathe in the fresh air. All the while, trying to convince his mother to allow him to go outside.

She agreed in the end, admitting that keeping them inside all the time wasn't healthy. She let them out, but only if they promised to return before sundown every day, and to never speak a word of Ariana, their father, or anything else to anyone.

Albus had no problems with keeping those promises. A small price to pay for the freedom to go outside again. He grew friendlier with the neighbors as he wandered their new home, growing more curious about the outside world and what laid beyond the walls of their house. He never really gave it much thought back in their old home… but seeing how different things were here compared to there… it really made him begin to wonder just what else was out there.

Aberforth also liked to wander, though he always made sure to come home well before sundown to check on mother and Ariana. He made sure that he brought home flowers and little sticks for their sister and telling her of everything he saw outside. He wasn't making himself popular with the other neighbors though, often getting into fights and even flinging dung from the two pet goats that he got for his first birthday after they moved here. He insisted on building a tiny barn for them himself, bringing Ariana out to see them and proudly showing off his work to her as she laughed at the little goats while they nibbled on the grass they brought to her.

Aberforth knew how much Ariana liked them and so he told her that she could come out and feed them every day with him, but only when she was good. This was a good tactic with her, for she really did love feeding the little goats and did her best to stay calm and did what she was told so that she could be allowed outside and feel the grass between her toes and breathe fresh air with her brother.

Otherwise, no one was even aware that Ariana had existed. The exception being to a nice woman by the name of Bathilda Bagshot, who lived down the road. Ariana had caused the glass to explode out of one of the downstairs windows one day, trying to catch a humming bird that fluttered outside. At the sight of it, Miss Bagshot—who had been on a walk—had stopped dead in her tracks as mother ran to the window and pulled Ariana inside and repaired the damage before spotting her there.

After confronting her about what happened, Albus was both relieved and surprised that she understood their fears and swore to keep their secret for them. After that, he felt that his mother was greatly relieved to have a friend to talk to, while he grew fascinated by the magical historian's knowledge of the world. He would share with her all manner of ideas and theories that he came up with through his studies, and he would be lying if he didn't feel pride swelling up inside him as she praised his ideas. Saying that he had the mind of a genius and was sure to be the top of his year at school.

Indeed, for the next two years, he divided himself between his studies and taking care of his family. Whether he wasn't helping mother care for Ariana and stopping Aberforth from getting into fights and apologizing to everyone for his behavior, he had his nose buried in a book, reading through as many as he could at a time.

He hadn't given up hope that he could find a way to cure Ariana one day. And after he did that, he could tell the Ministry the real reason that father had attacked those boys. He was sure that if they understood the real reason, they would lighten father's sentence. And then father could come home one day and mother wouldn't be so unhappy.

Such ideas flew through his mind and he held onto that hope that he could find it. Didn't his parents say that he could do anything if he set his mind to it? If he really did have a brilliant mind, then he was sure he could find a solution to make his dream come true.

As for Ariana, she improved in some ways… worsen in others. Her magic was still beyond her control and if she wasn't careful, it would burst out of her. Sometimes she would just snap and her powers would rage against her until she couldn't remember who she was or what was going on. Mother had moved a bed in with her so that they slept in the same room and she would be right there should Ariana need her.

During the day, she would try to find little projects to keep Ariana's mind occupied. Such as knitting, believe it or not. She would set Ariana down and knit with her so that it distracted her mind. Ariana soon grew to like the family time, for mother would make the two of them sit down with them and either draw, read, or help knit with them. Albus wasn't too interested in knitting, but Ariana seemed to like it when he paid attention to her when she showed him the pretty patterns that she came up with—even if the 'socks' she had been working so hard on looked more like a mess of yarn. Still, it was rare when she smiled even bigger than when he would put on a hat or sock she had made… even when he couldn't tell which was which.

Life wasn't easy, but he held onto hope that it would get better.

He kept that promise to his father as best as he could for those next two years…

And then his letter from Hogwarts arrived.

When he got up that morning and saw the owl arrive with that letter…? It was both one of the happiest days of his life… but also a day that marked his failure to keeping that final promise.

 **(Sorry for the wait, but I do hope that you enjoyed the chapter. I like to think that Albus was a devoted son and brother to his family. Holding onto the hope that he could cure Ariana and reunite everyone. At least until he got to school and heard so much praise that it all went to his head as he changed. I also like to think that he was allowed to see his father once more before he was taken away from them and that Percival would wish that they remember him the way he was… not as a monster that the rest of the world would think of him. But it's when Albus's letter arrives that he goes to school and he is the center of a lot of attention that slowly begins to push out ideas of helping his family out of his head. Anyway, that is it for now, I hope you like it and that you'll be looking forward to Albus's first year at school. Including a very special idea I have planned for him ;)**


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